This Wednesday, the President of the Republic stated that he was shocked by the bombing of a hospital in Gaza, whether intentional or not, but refused to name those responsible and recommended more silence and diplomacy in light of the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
“I am not going to comment on this matter, firstly because I have no information, and secondly because I am not allowed to comment on this matter. There are several international bodies and in addition there are several national procedures,” Marcelo said. Rebelo de Sousa, responding to journalists, in Namur, during his state visit to Belgium.
The head of state defended that “this is the moment to do everything so that there really is a future in a situation and in a region that has suffered a lot over time” and that “this benefits from silence, from diplomacy, if possible, more than by speaking publicly about the issue.”
Asked about the United Nations (UN) Secretary General’s call for a ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Hamas, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said only that he understands António Guterres’ position, without endorsing it .
“I just wanted to say that I fully understand the position of the Secretary General of the United Nations, because in the exercise of his mandate he is concerned about the situation,” he replied, adding: “It is a completely understandable appeal, because it corresponds to what has guided his actions in various situations around the world”.
Regarding Tuesday’s explosion at Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City, the President of the Republic opined that “it shocked everyone, and it was probably a universal shock”, deploring the numerous civilian casualties.
“Our first thought goes out to the victims of what happened, such as when bomb attacks on healthcare institutions also took place with civilian casualties in Ukraine,” named.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa had at his side the Minister of Foreign Affairs, João Gomes Cravinho, who this Wednesday called the attribution of this explosion to an Islamic Jihad missile as “a very consolidated idea”.
Faced with this position of the Portuguese government and other governments, the Head of State reiterated: “I, as I said, did not want to comment on this”.
“I have been careful to say that there are intentional and other unintentional actions that can have certain consequences. For now, I have only spoken about the humanitarian side of the issue,” he stressed.
The Health Ministry of the Gaza Strip, an enclave controlled by Hamas, blamed the Israeli forces for the attack.
Israel denied responsibility for the attack and attributed the explosion to a failure by the Islamic Jihad group.
Asked whether he shares the view of European Council President Charles Michel that the total siege of Gaza, including the cutoff of water supplies, violates international humanitarian law, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa declined to comment .
“The European Union is intervening through its top officials. Our orientation must be to want maximum unity in the position of the European Union. And when she speaks, and after the intense participation that Portugal has always had in taking directives and decisions within the European Union, the framework supports Portugal,” he stated.
Source: DN
